Ive put together a HEAP of downloads to help you on your journey tinhouse-studio.com/product-category/workshop/

As far as models, personally, can’t speak for others, for me there is an upside and it’s deliberate. I’m into portraiture and event photography. Shooting models allows me to practice my lighting, composition, it allows me to try new things I otherwise wouldn’t try w a paying client. The margin for error isn’t as a slim as it would be w a paying client. As a result, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t work, incorporated new techniques, it’s improved my composition bc I do a lot of on location, so there’s def a positive to it. Edit: oh I forgot, it’s improved my editing, color grading and retouching. Practice makes perfect.

I think your camera settings example sums it all up well. After years of fumbling around with photography I’ve realized that the best advice is this… “you have to find out what works best for you” The more you shoot, the more clarity you will get on what is effective and what is not.

I feel like the most fundamental thing people forget to examine is why they do this at all, like what DRIVES you to take photographs? If you're chasing a photography career based solely on where you think the money is instead of aligning your photography audience with why you do this in the first place, I fail to see how that is meaningfully different from chasing the rat race on any corporate ladder. Doing it that way, I think most people are going to either spend a lot of time spinning their wheels or else ultimately being unfulfilled. I could never do what this guy does. Why? Because I would HATE being trapped in a studio all day with a bunch of harsh lights shooting peoples' products, with every image looking practically the same. I make photographs because it reminds me that no matter how bad or scary the world seems, there is still beauty everywhere. It helps me to get past my cynicism and fall in love with humanity all over again. It opens me up to life, gets me out of my head, and into the present moment. And I share my photographs to help show other people how to find it- especially in the ordinary, everyday things. I feel we live in such crazy times that humanity is struggling with a kind of dystopian loneliness and resignation. When I show people what beauty there is all around us, I feel like it is a win for humanity as a whole to remember who we really are. So I will find the way to sell my art and someone else will find the way to get hired to do their photography as a service, but as long as we stick to our core motivations for doing it then IMO we are getting it right and the path will reveal itself.

The way I learned "getting it right in camera" wasn't about never postprocessing, but about not letting oneself get so technically lazy that you depend on having the most capable, highest DR camera body just to get a usable RAW that can even be fixed in post. About "needing the latest greatest gear," where I'm from, it is almost always professionals and influencers that seem to push this notion. The only reason I learned to have confidence in my gear is because of working professionals from outside my region like yourself that both profess and demonstrate otherwise.

On the Model thing - I test with a lot of people who are trying to get into the industry and offer up my time to genuinely help people get those tests and polaroid images so they can get work/get signed to an agency, but also use it as a platform to practice, as you should! (both for myself and for them). I see too many photographers on multiple platforms taking advantage of these young and new models so they can get their rocks off or to essentially scam them too often it and I distance myself very far away from them. I know it doesn't make money; I'm not in it for that. I want to help people who are starting out/signed new faces to have a genuine shot at modelling and see what it's like to work with someone who is setting the standard of respect and professionalism as a photographer who works with people.

For me, the one mistake I still see from a lot of beginners is obsessing over being on ISO 100 because that produces the "cleanest" image. I did a shoot with a model (getting to that shortly) where I was on auto-ISO the entire time to keep my shutter speed and aperture at reasonable settings, and the ISO varied from as low as 200 to as high as 1600 at times. Lr's noise reduction made short work of any significant noise (I have all noise reduction options disabled in camera). Anyway... two things I want to comment on: #3. The concept you were almost about to explicitly name is the "point of diminishing returns", where after a point you're getting less value overall for what you're spending. Where that point is reached is different for everyone. For me that's why I'm still using a Nikon Z5. For what I typically do, I can't justify anything better. And I'm using 3rd party glass (Sigma and Tamron, specifically) with the FTZ adapter because shelling out for the new Z-mount glass just isn't worth it. #4. Two things on this. To get experience taking photos, either 1. people need to come to you or 2. you need to go to them. So if you're not being hired, you need to hire people to photograph. Unless, like me, you just ask random people on the street - which is definitely not for everyone. So it's not a "job" unto itself in that it won't sustain you, but it is a great way to try new things and get practice.

Looool I went through a phase of 100 clarity slider and shooting everything HDR…. I grew up in terms of photography.

lol. Model photography is not a thing. That’s harsh but I agree. Then again, when you look at the best work from the fashion industry including P. Lindbergh or H. Newton etc, they basically do a lot of model shoot to test things out. So it’s can’t be a thing by itself but you probably will never get into fashion if you don’t do it.

Wholeheartedly agree with all but that last point. Personally speaking, it is the regular, daily practice that has made me develop my skills and my direction. Again, just talking about me and my scenario, I do have time to critically analyze what I photograph. I photograph specific subjects within the projects on my list. It's how I have learned a lens, inside and out. It's how I've learned how to find the best composition for a kind of subject. For a beginner, they need to build that interest, the drive, the ideas for what they truly want to photograph. And in that process they will get better, gain skills, and be rid of the bad habits. My kids are rookies, and the more they pick up the camera (Canon Rebel XTi for them) the more they actively learn as I am helping them along. They have even done projects all the way to printed books which we can go back to and show growth.

Photographers: I need the absolutely best camera with maximum amount of pixels because I want the absolute sharpest images. Also same photographer: Check out this shot I made with a WWII Helios 44 on my latest and greatest SONY 😊

At 02:20 Correct. I have the 50 mm F=1:1.8 Canon lens on my Canon EOS 750D body. But... the autofocus is not always correct. I took some pictures at 1.8 with the far-right focus point and I am sure the results could be better with live-view and a tripod.

Love this episode. Partly because your attitude just makes me smile, but also, of course, I agree with a lot of what you say (sharpness, model photography, 365 etc). My photos are a million miles from your stuff (b&w, analogue, dev and print myself). But since buying an enlarger and printing in the bathroom one or two images a day, I'm REALLY looking at each image critically. Some are unprintable. So I go out and take another one. But I'm finding that re-evaluating my own work much better than just taking loads of images. Also, I don't need any more kit.

„Sharpness is a bourgeois concept“ (Henri Cartier Bresson). True words

As a commercial interior and architectural photographer, I’ll fix it in post is the most common thing that comes out of my mouth😂

Yes... All of this! This is a perfect new photographer primer!

Spot on with the sharpness bit, I had the same discussion at the weekend. The other party just did not get it becoming quite agitated, I thought it best to move the conversation on...

Yep.... SooC is much preferred. The thought of spending hours editing images is both daunting & frightening! (just an enthusiast committed to improving upon my skills).

As always, I appreciate the straight talking. Thank you, Scott

I disagree on the shooting more thing. I think it depends on the process of improvement you want to follow. Plan your shoot with expectations of what you want to capture. Shoot it. Look at the results. Did you meet your expectations? Could you have shot it differently? If you were to shoot it again, what would you do differently? If you critique yourself honestly, how much you do it shouldn't matter. The point is to improve all aspects of your photography.

this was one of my favorites, so many truths in one session

Good advice, although I feel that you could connect some of the dots. E.g. shooting every day, soften it to on a regular basis, and that means not necessarily work for clients (yes you need an income), but call it practicing, developing new ideas, concepts and testing them out. While doing that you can always assess your current sweet spot in 'getting it right in camera' vs. 'fix it in post'. Given the genre you are in, the subjects you take, the current technical abilities it is worthwhile to spend some time to see how you can optimize your process and time so that in the end you get the results you want (and need to sell).

That's a good point about improving. However, if you are doing something that is wether dependent like landscape photography or something situational like street photography, then shooting more actually helps you to get better images. I doesn't necessarily make you a better photographer but at least you get the good stuff for your portfolio or what ever. Like you said, the end result is what matters.

I just happen to be a model photographer. I don't get paid. Instead, I pay the models plus rent studio space. It's an expensive hobby I'm enjoying in retirement. 🙂

I think once you get the "bigger hold more light" "slower shutter more light" "flash travels 300k, km a second" in your head...then "bigger iso number more grain" you are pretty much left to your own device (literally) and then its time to store that info, and go shoot somethings you want to see on your screen - these shouldnt be tough concepts, unless you have a gatekeeper explaining them in thousands of words - I mean, you understand you cant throw a heavier rock as far as a small one (trade offs) and in the dark your eyes dilate (cause and effect) - its nice to figure out and put in to practice.

I'm actually doing a photo a day challenge. Not take a photo a day (I have an office job so I don't have that time) but going through old photo's and editing or recreating to improve them (I hope) As for equipment, it only matters if the equipment on hand wont do the job. I wanted to take a shot but all I had was a 50mm. I could not get any further back or any lower to try and get the shot. I had to find a different one while annoyed that I didn't have my 27mm

Man, I wish you had one more style of video on here. Like, take us around your town, or around London. Let us meet some of your professional assistants. I've been following you for some time now, and I love your content. I think you're brilliant. But just get a Insta360 X4, a DJI Wireless Mic and take us somewhere, show us something. Like you can talk about this stuff, but give us some energy at the same time you know? Anyway, I'll still be here regardless, love your content Scott! Regards,

Disagree with the 30 solid days VS Day 1 & 30 only. Shooting regularly (I've just started again) gets me in the groove and I'm often assessing. So to me its 30 days assessing a lot, which I think I'd get more out of. Plus I forgot how to work the camera too! (Went mirrorless).

also 100% on the "shooting more" thing, it's like the Ten Thousand Hour Rule. Doing something wrong for 10 thousand hours is a waste of time. Same goes for people's mindsets, you can spend all your life not thinking you're good enough, or Think you are better than you actually are. Both equally as damaging. Stopping and accessing and questioning and trying new things gets you further with experience, Ten Thousand Hours of practicing and critically assessing what you have learnt and achieved is how you truly become a "master". Not just doing something for that many hours.

I love your honesty and that’s what keeps me watching. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Someone buys a new camera then within 14 minutes is on the internet/social media asking what lenses they should buy! Learn the fundamentals of photography (which will take more than an hour) decide which subjects you want to photograph and then you’ll be qualified to make these sort of decisions for yourself ! Enjoy your channel very much! 👏👍😀

I’m in the camp of saying I don’t care about your camera or what the settings are simply because I’m not taking the picture that you are taking, and therefore all the technical stuff does not matter to me because the artistic vision isn’t mine, but what I do care about is the picture making stop and look at it

Shooting more is definitely makes you a better photographer. It’s not only about photography itself, it’s also about developing creativity and imagination, having a discipline. I did 365 self portrait challenge a couple of years ago and learnt so much. This concept doesn’t work for everyone but for many. It’s the same if you want to learn a handstand it’s better to spend 10 mins on it everyday rather practice for 2 hours twice a month.

Brilliant! Love it!

Totally agree. Focusing on technicalities and equipment is easy, improving by reflecting could is a bit harder.

I've done a few camera and lens reviews on my channel and the views are significantly higher than my usual stock photography videos. This is why YTers talk about new gear so much. Scott being the exception, so far 🙂.

AND... we get to the last point, don't shoot more "unless" you have a critical eye for the possible flaws in your work. Camera, lens and the combination of over thinking a subject can ruin your potential career. Never progressing beyond the "simple" exposure triangle or the inverse square law. Taking a shot per day, is useful if it's a creative theme but mostly a waist of earning time. Spanning decades as a pro is hard enough progressing through market changes, fiddling with settings will not make you better (in most circumstance). Scott you must be an empath, you certainly reflect the current vibe.

100% agree with you on the kit. Had my goal to get my camera body and lenses, did that and I know that's versatile for me to do what I need it for. Not constantly looking and looking and thinking I don't have the equipment. I know my tools and you need to know them to do your craft. You can get too bogged down with equipment if you let it. 👍

I tried the daily shoot thing. Got bored after 3 days for the exact reason Scott mentioned. Stopped for a month or more and then went street shooting with a friend. My goal was to see what I shooting black and white was like and did I learn a ton about light and shadow in a half day of shooting in natural/ambient light.

Today you managed to light yourself in a way to make it look like you are in front of a green screen :D

I find your channel extremely refreshing! Can't stand the gear hypers. I went out of my way to buy a 5D MKII last year, when I could have bought any R series body. So glad I did!

All very good points indeed. As for getting it right in camera. Well, I try to get it right-ish in camera but I don't obsess about getting it spot on. Technology exists to help us so I shoot with my mind on knowing what I can do in post if I need to.

Analogous scenario #154. As a patient in hospital during rounds the big chief consultant pulled up a junior who was quoting my somewhat strange stats. Chief says "You'll be a much better Doctor if you treat the patient and not the numbers." A wise man.

love the last part of it

So many truths in what is said here... I have gone down that rabbit hole of sharpness, landscapes being sharp from front to back (So unrealistic!), the latest mirrorless camera. Now, my camera gear fits what I am shooting. I use a D700 with Nikon D lenses and adapted manual glass. I don't need a Z8 or a Z9, most of my subjects don't move... If I want to shoot wildlife, I use the Olympus. Some months I may only get out with the camera once or twice.... I tend to have some idea of where or what I am looking to do before I go out, other days I let inspiration guide me... Toying with doing portraiture as I enjoy shooting people so I may think about a Canon 6D Mk 1 with a couple of older L prime lenses and some second hand lighting... Enjoying the content Scott, Thank you!

Love fixing stuff in post, just as I loved manipulating images in my darkroom 40 years ago. Nobody complained back then, so why the complaints now?

In 1982 I bought the pro kit. I wanted to do photography for reasons I wouldn’t discover for many years. Even back then the focus was on gear. Even now it’s difficult to get instruction on actually making pictures, unless you are paying someone. So the kit only matters if you don’t have the right tools. That said, you can make good pictures with your phone if you know what you’re doing.

Interested to know what you ask yourself when you are assessing your personal projects or the work you do just for your own enjoyment Scott? I am sure it is nothing about focus or lighting after all!

4:55 model photography is creepy. That sent me back to being in my teens in W H Smith, blushing as I bought a photography magazine. For those in the dark they usually had half naked girls in the cover. Sometimes I really wanted to say "I'm just buying it for the photography!!!" . Anyone else? 😬

Shooting more makes you better, it's proven by every legendary photographer ever... Projects make you a better photographer. The 365 is a bit boring but I did it for month on holiday in NZ and every image was a keeper. My dad has been doing it for 6 years and he maybe get 5 good ones per year.

Feeling that I am not a good enough photographer. Sure I always had the desire to improve my skills and photographic ability. In the very beginning although I sort our advice I was still reluctant to share images that I thought were not good enough, where I didn't capture what I wanted to capture. Just recently looking back through some of my old transparencies even though I find fault, I realise others may have a different perspective.

Refreshing

I agree strongly that equipment is not going to turn Joe Schmedlap into Ansel Adams. The problem with equipment is that people want an instant cure.. "If I buy that lens, I will take better pictures." Actually, no. You won't. Beginners need to understand how lighting works. They need to understand composition and other simple things like keeping the horizon level (a seascape with a ten degree tilt is awful, so if nothing else, fix it in post0. Read some books on photography. Study the work of photographers you admire and ask yourself, "Why do I like these pictures?" Here is one that film photographers have already learned: Slow down and think about what you are after. Spray and pray does not work and is definitely not repeatable if you get a fortuitous image. I do watch some channels on equipment, but I gain the most from watching great photographers who want to teach me something instead of sell me something with affiliate links.

I had somebody come to me saying, why do you say there is no money in shooting models. I looked at them and said, "As somebody that has done photoshoots for agencies, I'll show you how much I've made shooting portfolios for models, and I'll show you how much I make for a half day shooting corporate headshots and you come to the conclusion if there is money in shooting models. Do you make money? Yes, technically. But the next question is, In relation to what?

I think the “sharpness matters” for the sake of…wait for it…fixing it in post. Especially when it comes to compositing the sharp edge of products

Hi Scott, great tips, thanks. Can you please tell me how high your studio is?

You went to a lot of work preparing this video for, so far, 71 of us. Thank you. -- BAK --

It's an interesting one with regards to sharpness. For me I have always had the mindset of I want it to be sharp enough for (insert print size). Now, I would expect this focus on sharpness would vary wildly depending on what style you wanna shoot in as well. Personally I would rather have a slightly sharper picture that I can tone down texture and such than one that is too blurry for the details I would like in my photo.

I think you are confusing arguments between amateurs or wanna-be-pros vs real pros, we amateurs like to discuss and check gear and that's why you can find last model lens or camera on the used market as many a times we run behind the last bit of tech without to actually be able to discern the differences which, by the way, in these last few years are so negligible which, for me, there is a stagnation, they are not increasing MP any longer, DR reached plateau for DX and FF sensors, remove a filter there, add another one there but we reached a plateau and chasing numbers and charts made us disconnect with the real thing, taking photographs and enjoying the process not to mention the majority of people not printing 1% of our shots... You are always interesting to listen to and your character adds to the whole process, well done as always, keep going!!!

Last point: i noticed a increase in quality once i started to shoot raw and develop the pictures. I then had to review them and saw what did and what didnt work. However that effect has vanished and getting an honest feedback for my work(i consider my self beginner) isnt easy unless you want to ask the internet about it. People seem to like it while the internet does not, kinda if they are only good if they mean something to you or they just dont want to hurt my feelings or the bar of expectation really sits that low here in the middle of nowhere. Btw. on question: How much is a fair share fore an agent or someone whonegotiates a price for you? Thats the point i really succk at and that i really do not enjoy for some reason.

Great video. Definitely learned at some point that chasing the best kit is just a way to go broke. I shoot most of my photography on a 10 year old K 5 IIs and it gets the job done. And I also shoot with many old K mount lenses too. Some even manual focus but they do what I need them to. As for the bit about "model photography". That was a huge thing in the 90s up here in Canada but it was frankly a scam perpetrated on photographers and models. A modelling agency would have a group of photographers they used for headshots and test shoots that were underpaid and the model would be charged near extortion level amounts of money for a pretty basic studio shoot. The photographer didn't know what the models were being charged and the model didn't know the photographer was making peanuts either and the agency would make a fortune. And they would have hundreds of people come in for "casting calls" which basically were just used to make money of the photo scam. It was all very unethical. This coming from a guy who at the time my parents were talked into me and my sister having shoots for kids modeling. And the bit about getting it right in camera. I shoot alot of film too so in that case I have to get it right. But with digital the more attention I give to getting things right in camera the less work I have to do in post later. It is not so much about being a purist as it is about time management and making your job easier later.

Quick Question: Would it be correct to assume that one of the key things separating a professional working photographer from a beginner photographer is knowing *when* it's better to fix it in post vs fixing it in camera, and vice versa from a budget standpoint? As in "we're shooting 100 product photos, better to fix it in camera if possible" vs. "we're shooting 1 insane glamour hero shot, let's do loads of shots focusing on each detail and composite in post" type of thing?

clarity *gags*

A very frequent mistake i've seen from almost every amateur photographer is they are emotional about their work and can't stand any chritics and if you say something about their photo they take it like you chriticize them

Just like landscape photography - model photography is not a business model until it becomes one. Not in a transactional way - I get hired to do a job, but once the photographer is famous enough to be able to sell prints or books of his work or workshops or Lightroom presets gets revenue from KZfaq adds or affiliate links it is a business model

@TinHouseStudioUK What is that blue work coat? I want one.

As a hobbyist, gear matters if it inspires you.

I came from the music production world originally, ALL of this stands, you don't need best gear, you don't need to be perfectly in time like a robot, Autotune IS okay, but there's always "too much processing". If everyone played the same by the same rules we'd all still think certain notes were from the devil, and be singing Gregorian chants. You DON'T need a full understanding of music theory, Nor do you need to know how to read music. Genres can be mixed, and Genres can be challenged.

I'm just a complete amateur so these remarks are probably not worth much. After a fair bit of fannying around for a few years, much in the manner that Scott describes, I've arrived at the following: I do like to try to get it right in the camera but that is because that is a personal challenge or standard or ideal that I like to test myself against. I nearly always set the aperture to somewhere between 5.6 and 11 and the ISO to the day's conditions (I tend not to take too many pics indoors), so that I can get shortish shutter speeds unless I deliberately want slow ones. All the above has but one aim: to get the shot I think I see in the can with the minimum of things to think about. The less I have to fiddle about in post later on - which usually adds up to a bit of a cropping and a contrast tweak, the more I think I've succeeded. But all that is surely a zillion miles from how a pro must have to approach things. I don't think I'd want to deal with that kind of pressure for fear of taking the fun out of it. That said, the insights of a pro are fascinating and I do profit from them.

After attending the photo & video show at the NEC last month I filled out the feedback form because I found the circus of models going stage to stage while leering old men crowded around to snap them on their 300mm lenses so incredibly gross 🤮

Any plans to make The Business of Photography V2.0 available again?

Here's one I think 99% of photographers believe and is not true: "digital sensors are linear". Nope, they're not. In comparison to film they tend towards linear, but as a raw sensor output they do not produce a linear reproduction of tones.

You know he’s a pro because he uses the word “kit”.

Most important message : shotting more doesn't make you a better photographer !!!! point ! you have to think and learn !

1. Uploading to Instagram.

Also, avoid spending money on presets. Learn how to color grade instead.

Love it! As always... So much sense... because, actually, we all have so little time! And boy, do we (I) waste it!!